Kentucky or West Virginia for former Pitt running back Rushel Shell

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t looks like it will be Kentucky or West Virginia for former Pittsburgh running back Rushel Shell.

Shell, who announced on April 2 that he was leaving Pitt, originally planned on going to UCLA, but decided that he wanted to remain closer to his Pennsylvania home and his two young daughters.

He hoped to return to the Panthers, but that wasn’t an option.

Reports surfaced that Ohio State, Kentucky and West Virginia were in play. But according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com, you can scratch Ohio State from the list.

The former 5-star recruit to decide between Kentucky and West Virginia after making visits to both schools.

Shell was one of the top running backs in the nation as a senior at Hopewell High School in Aliquippa, Pa. He rushed for a state-record 9,078 yards in his career.

At Pitt, he gained 641 yards as a true freshman playing behind senior Ray Graham.

Shell was No. 1 on Pitt’s depth chart through the first six practices this spring, but pulled himself from drills March 22 with a undisclosed leg injury. He never returned.

He initially requested permission to transfer to either UCLA, Cal, Arizona or Arizona State, but was blocked from Arizona and Arizona State. Both the Arizona schools of have multiple coaches that were members of the Panthers staff that originally recruited him.